While there were only a handful of phan favorite “heavy hitters” left on the table after the last few nights...phish made the absolute best with what they had.

In fact they proved they didn’t need to engage in what some would consider the obvious. They avoided all covers (minus the very last loving cup) and left us with a well excecuted dance party that could be argued was the second best show of the run.

New Year’s Eve shows are the perfect time to think back on the year music we have be givith. And while 3.0 has provided moments of brilliance and there have been several shows of historical value. Most may argue this was the strongest year (all be it shortest) of phish since ‘97.

From the wizardry of CK5 to the impressive sound of Trey’s guitar, to the well crafted set lists, it has been an incredible year.

And less we not forget a reinvented, spacier chairman of the boards. These components and countless others have proven beyond a doubt it’s still a great time to be a phish fan.

Tonight’s show had a taste of all these elements and solidified that this band not only loves to take care of their fans but relishes the opportunity to push themselves in new and interesting ways.

Though we only got 28 shows this year boy did they make them count!! Thank you Phish and can’t wait to see what 2018 has in store. Happy new year!

When you walked into the show, attached to your seat was a white bracelet that looked like an oversized pedometer. People expected them to light up at some point, or tell us when our table was ready, so the buildup to midnight was that much more exciting.

Set 1 starts with a strong Carini. Jammed out a bit before it goes into Suzie. Finely played before going into a My Friend which is fairly standard. Fluffhead shows up and despite some flubs, was still great to hear. Reba had the same issues and I thought Fishman cut the jam a bit short but, like Fluffhead, I am not going to complain when I get to bitch and moan when I get to hear them. The rest of the set was more classic Phish. A set with nice song selection to settle in for the night.

Set 2 Fuego> Gotta Jibboo was the musical highlight of the show. The Gotta Jibboo in particular had some some superb jamming and should be sought out. What's the Use? mellowed out and gave CK5 to use the "ring" light effect he has been using during the tour. A ring of light emanates from the center of the floor and stretches outward to the rest of the crowd and then comes back to the center. Just a nice moment where the crowd could be silent (almost never happens at MSG) and just reflect for a second. YEM was a good version and I thought the vocal jam was actually better than the usual. I thought during it that it would be great if a YEM vocal jam was the first Phish music someone ever heard.

Right before the 3rd set, the bracelets turn colors for a few seconds and turn off. The crowd goes wild. A few minutes later, the set started and you start seeing the gag taking shape. It's nautical mateys. There were a few guys in red that were putting up the sail attached to a big mast. Wind blew the sail as the band jammed and the sail started to do a 360. While this is going on, everyone's bracelet is blue and green representing the sea. It's like you were in a giant Xmas tree. The nautical theme continued through the set in terms of the song selection. The lighted bracelet effects continued through out the show as well and provided an awesome visual that was such a creative move by the band to incorporate the audience into the NYE gag. ASHITOS was the set highlight. Another jam to seek out. Rest of the set was pretty much gravy.

Overall, a fun night. A few musical highlights and an excellent gag for those who were there. Looking forward to a great 2018 and hopefully Trey maintains his tone.

This was my 20th Phish show and first NYE. Since couch-touring most of the Baker's Dozen this Summer I made it my 2017 mission to be PageSideRageSide for NYE especially if in MSG, and I must say this show did not disappoint in the least. Fitting top-to-bottom song selection and consistently high energy among the band and the crowd yielded an instant classic amongst Phish's most beloved and legendary tradition, the 12/31 shows. The first two sets were among the strongest of the run and the third set was a super entertaining & fun way to ring in the new year.

Set I: Carini opener. Holy Moly this is a great opener, appropriately kicking off the show with so much arena-rock energy. From the first ripping chord, it hit me that it was actually happening. 12/31 baby!!! Suzy Greenberg was a great follow up to keep the whole place dancing. I love Suzy. Fishman's vocal fill before the chorus always makes laugh. MFMF was played well, no noticeable flubs in the intro. Then, Fluffhead. Have been chasing this hellborn elfchild since IT, my first show, when "Mike said no", and was absolutely elated to hear the opening riff. My neighbors in sec 223 were all high fiving & hugging each other, acknowledging the set list was 100% rockers and monsters so far.... I brought a lady friend to her first show, and was worried when she expressed she was getting kinda scared by some of the lyrics and minor scales in Carini, MFMF & sections of Fluff. But then, Reba to the rescue! There are a couple flubs during the composed first half, but for me the ambient jam is a must listen. Just so so beautiful and uplifting. I was worried my friend was about to ask to leave, but during Reba she looked at me smiling and said "I can see why you love this band. I get it now". And it was like the clouds parted for her. The whistle section was awesome; haven't heard it in a while. When they went back into the Bag It Tag it lyrics at the end, my friend was laughing so hard, her mind was blown for the first time (of many) that evening. "Oh. My. God. This is still the same song!?". New Phish fan aboard, ahoy! Poor Heart followed, a well-placed upbeat bluegrass ditty that brought us back to planet earth for a few minutes. 46 Days was solid and kept the place bouncing. Then Bowie! No, it's Maze. Not exactly a let-down, but I was reallllllly hoping for a Bowie. I always fall for the similar drum beats, is there even a difference in that opening hi-hat drumming? Character Zero is one of my favorite set closers, sprinting to the finish line of an eighty-two minute first set with its signature screaming peak.

As the lights went up my friend looked at me and asked "so there's only one setbreak right?". This question made me so happy.

Set II: I love the opening build-up to Possum. I wish it were always super duper drawn out. This was a very fun version and Mike sounded great on vocals. Fuego and Gotta Jibboo are the heart of the third quarter (supposing the third set counts as overtime); listen to these two, the jams will take you on a journey, especially Jibboo. Can never get enough Jibboo delay loop. Golgi was tons of fun, they nailed the short ambient jam. What's The Use was an absolute face-melter. Surreal. I wish they would have played that for 45 minutes. Between CK5's lighting and the insane tones from Trey's new rig I had to pick my jaw up off the floor. As WTU was winding down, I realized some of my favorite moments in life are those right before a song. When I have no idea what's about to happen, I just have to surrender to the flow and let it happen. Phish is such a special band because of moments like these. Finally, a familiar arpeggio. There's no YEMSG without YEM. The glowsticks were getting tossed around during this one, and they jammed it very finely. One of the finer versions I have heard. After the trampolines & guitar jam, Trey took off his guitar and was dancing to Mike's bass solo before a wild vocal jam. It was awesome, check out Trey's dancing on YouTube or IG.

Set III: We gotta talk about Soul Planet for a second. Very good melody and energy, but I gotta say, the lyrics are so corny. I was crying-laughing myself to sleep during relistens post-show. I am convinced that the lyrics were written as part of the gag, like they were mocking Coldplay or some K-pop song. It's just beyond Dad-Rock in its level of cheese. Someone on PT said they couldn't tell if it was a Weird Al Yankovich song or a Phish song. With that said, I was having such a good time watching the sailing/pirate gag and the light up bracelets that I didn't really cringe. The rest of the set was a lot of fun, featuring songs with nautically-themed lyrics. Free and ASIHTOS had some good jams and ASIHTOS featured some good type II jamming. Caspian>Velvet Sea brought the energy to a happy place and felt like a fitting vibe as the set wound down. First Tube closer and Loving Cup encore were pretty standard, but you could tell the boys were loving it. We didn't get any banter from Trey this evening, not even a New Years Eve countdown. This was an unforgettable party, and the second best show of the run IMO after 12/30. Thank you Phish!

Highlights
Set I: Reba
Set II: Gotta Jibboo, YEM
Set III: Free > ASIHTOS > Moma Dance

What a year for Phish!

NYE was well played top to bottom. Mike gets MVP of the run (which is saying a lot because all 4 played extremely well). Compared to last year, song selection was more focused after ALS. Always preferred when NYE is the last show of the run. No regrets, much appreciated. Now, when do they announce 2018 summer dates???

While there were only a handful of phan favorite “heavy hitters” left on the table after the last few nights...phish made the absolute best with what they had.

In fact they proved they didn’t need to engage in what some would consider the obvious. They avoided all covers (minus the very last loving cup) and left us with a well excecuted dance party that could be argued was the second best show of the run.

New Year’s Eve shows are the perfect time to think back on the year music we have be givith. And while 3.0 has provided moments of brilliance there have been several shows of historical value And some could argue this was the strongest year (all be it shortest) of phish since ‘97.

From the wizardry of CK5 to the impressive sound of Trey’s guitar, to the well crafted set lists, it has been an incredible year.

And less we not forget a reinvented, spacier chairman of the boards. These components and countless others have proven beyond a doubt it’s still a great time to be a phish fan.

Tonight’s show had a taste of all these elements and solidified that this band not only loves to take care of their fans but relishes the opportunity to push themselves in new and interesting ways.

Though we only got 28 shows this year boy did they make them count!! Thank you Phish and can’t wait to see what 2018 has in store. Happy new year!

This was a really fun show. Carini opener brought an immediate energy into the Garden which remained consistently throughout the night. Each song played fit just right. The Fluffhead -> Reba segment was truly a bundle full of joy and sweet release early in on in the game. This whole first set encapsulates Phish at its heart and soul.
Set two Possum kickoff gets everyone on their toes. Fuego->Jibboo opens up the floor in fashion and displays the light hearted flush of ticklish riffs and grooves letting everyone boogie down and feel good about it. Golgi is the classic Phish always welcome and celebratory, continuing the theme of the night. What’s the Use has a way of captivating the audiences attention in this subtle way that just erupts in everyone’s face and showers everyone in lightness before kicking it into hyperdrive, launching the Garden deep into the depths of space with a raucous YEM.
Soul Planet opens up set three and it’s game on once again with a full on dance party done right. The band was flowing with so much energy at this point it felt as though the music was all just gracefully unwinding, pouring out with love and gratitude and happiness. ASIHTOS was the deep space cannonball of the night and erupted in constellatory psychedelia. The descent from the peak of this massive journey is again back to the heart and soul of Phish with emotionally felt renditions of each song played and a particularly tasteful tease of Auld Lang Syne in Moma Dance. Caspian>Wading>First Tube are lumps of space gravy, and Loving Cup is the cover on the whole enchilada until next time. What a beautiful buzz.

This show IMO was just OK, but deff not my favorite. I thought the playing in the first set by our main man Trey was sub-par to say the least. It was lacking a lot of emotion and defiantly sloppy as hell. The 2nd set was a killer and so was most of the 3rd with the exception of Soul Planet. I mean some of these new songs.... I just really don't get whats going on here. I know what Trey is trying to say to everyone in the song, but its just so damn corny and the worst version of bubble gum music I have ever heard.

Great Carini to open the show! The band sounds very sharp here, not in an hurtful sense of the definition but just a focused-yet-loose intensity that bodes well for the rest of the night. Fluffhead is reinvigorated a bit with some small alterations, which is very much in the spirit of Phishtory. Reba, although not "shreddy," is comfortably (warmly?) emotive. 46 Days brings a bit more heat to the affair, which is welcome. I don't really like the "song" portion of that song, and rarely even enjoy its jams, but this one is in and out before it grows cumbersome. Possum > Fuego > Gotta Jibboo is quite a run, but as per usual, the jam is perfunctory out of Fuego (one longs for the extended Fuegos of July 2014) and Gotta Jibboo is extended a bit but doesn't really gain particular traction. You Enjoy Myself starts out a little weird, like maybe the tempos were unsynchronized, but it plays out rewardingly (though I could handle them doing something more interesting with the vocal jam.) Set III opens with the Phish debut of Soul Planet, and Trey is working really hard to emphasize the theme. I haven't seen video yet, so I may be alone on this. A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing gets jammed out somewhat, and that's great. The rest of the set is not thoroughly thrilling to me. Overall, regarding this year's New Year's Run, I was pleased with some of the enthusiasm shown by the band; Mike was large and in charge for the duration; and another successful New Year's Eve stunt was brought to the table. I was underwhelmed by Trey's new effects; the tendency towards sloppiness almost entirely on Trey's part in the composed portions of songs played over the run; and the over-reliance on the bliss jam as a fallback in the jamming that precludes true exploration the likes of which we have every right to pine for from days of yore.